Intuitive Surgical | The da Vinci® Surgical Robot

April 3, 2010

Intuitive Surgical | The da Vinci robotic surgical system performs minimally invasive surgeries with extraordinary precision and more dexterity than the human hand. The original prototype for Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci System was developed in the late 1980s at SRI International under contract to the U.S. Army. While initial work was funded in the interest of developing a system for performing battlefield surgery remotely, possible commercial applications were even more compelling: It was clear to those involved that this technology could accelerate the application of a minimally invasive surgical approach to a broader range of procedures.

In 1995, Intuitive Surgical was founded to test this theory. In January 1999, Intuitive launched the da Vinci Surgical System, and in 2000, it became the first robotic surgical system cleared by the FDA for general laparoscopic surgery. In the following years, the FDA cleared the da Vinci Surgical System for thoracoscopic (chest) surgery, for cardiac procedures performed with adjunctive incisions, urologic and gynecologic procedures.

Today, over 1000 da Vinci Systems are installed in hospitals worldwide. The da Vinci prostatectomy procedure is currently the fastest-growing treatment for prostate cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men.